{{infobox company|] |company name

NEC Corporation日本電気株式会社 |company_type Public |traded_as OSE: 6701NSE: 6701Fukuoka SE: 6701Sapporo SE: 6701 |company_logo |slogan Empowered by Innovation |foundation Tokyo, Japan () |location_city 5-7-1, Shiba, Minato, Tokyo |location_country Japan |area_served Worldwide |key_people Kaoru Yano(Chairman)Nobuhiro Endo(President) |num_employees 115,840 (Consolidated, as of March 31, 2011) |revenue (FY 2010) |operating_income (FY 2010) |net_income (FY 2010) |assets (FY 2010) |equity (FY 2010) |industry Electronics |products *Telecommunications networks Servers Consumer electronics Domestic appliances Lighting |homepage NEC Global Gateway }}

, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology (IT) and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government.

The company used the name Nippon Electric Company, Limited before re-branding in 1983. As a chip maker, NEC Semiconductors is among the worldwide top 20 semiconductor sales leaders.

History

Early development

Company formation

Kunihiko Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda established Nippon Electric Limited Partnership on August 31, 1898 by using facilities that they had bought from Miyoshi Electrical Manufacturing Company. Iwadare was the representative partner. Maeda handled company sales. Western Electric, who had an interest in the Japanese phone market, was represented by Walter Tenney Carleton. Carleton was also responsible for the renovation of the Miyoshi facilities. It was agreed that the partnership would be reorganized as a joint-stock company when treaty would allow it. On July 17, 1899 the revised treaty between Japan and the United States went into effect. Nippon Electric Company, Limited was organized the same day with Western Electric Company to become the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital. Iwadare was named managing director. Ernest Clement and Carleton were named as directors. Maeda and Mototeru Fujii were assigned to be auditors. The overall management was handled by Iwadare, Maeda and Carleton.

Early production

The company started with the production, sales and maintenance of telephones and switches. NEC modernized the production facilities with the construction of the Mita Plant in 1901 at Mita Shikokumachi. It was completed in December 1902.

The Japanese Ministry of Communications adopted a new technology in 1903: the common battery switchboard supplied by NEC. The common battery switchboards powered the subscriber phone, eliminating the need for a permanent magnet generator in each subscriber's phone. The switchboards were initially imported, but were manufactured locally by 1909.

NEC started exporting telephone sets to China in 1904.

Changes in management

In 1905, Iwadare set out to change the plant management policy. He visited Western Electric to see their management and production control. On his return to Japan he discontinued the "oyakata" system of sub-contracting. It was replaced by a new system where managers and employees were all direct employees of the company. Inefficiency was also removed from the production process. The company paid higher salaries with incentives for efficiency. New accounting and cost controls were put in place. Time clocks were installed.

Expansion of the Japanese telephone service

Between 1899 and 1907 the number of telephone subscribers in Japan rose from 35,000 to 95,000. NEC entered the China market in 1908 with the implementation of the telegraph treaty between Japan and China. They also entered the Korean market, setting up an office in Seoul in January 1908. During the period of 1907 to 1912 sales rose from 1.6 million yen to 2 million yen. The expansion of the Japanese phone service had been a key part of NEC's success during this period. This expansion was about to take a pause.

The Ministry of Communications delayed a third expansion plan of the phone service in March, 1913, despite having 120,000 potential telephone-subscribers waiting for phone installations. NEC Sales fell sixty percent between 1912 and 1915. During the interim, Iwadare started importing appliances including electric fans, kitchen appliances, washing machines and vacuum cleaners. Electric fans had never been seen in Japan before. The imports were intended to prop up company sales. In 1916, the government resumed the delayed telephone expansion plan, adding 75,000 subscribers and 326,000 kilometers of new toll lines. Thanks to this third expansion plan, NEC expanded at a time when the rest of Japanese industry was mostly in decline.

Association with Sumitomo

In 1919, NEC started its first association with Sumitomo, engaging Sumitomo Densen Seizosho to manufacture cables. As part of the venture, NEC provided cable manufacturing equipment to Sumitomo Densen. Rights to Western Electrics duplex cable patents were also transferred to Sumitomo Densen.

The Great Kanto Earthquake

The Great Kanto Earthquake struck Japan in 1923. 140,000 people were killed and 3.4 million were left homeless. Four of NEC's factories were destroyed, killing 105 of NEC's engineers and workers. Thirteen of Tokyo's telephone offices were destroyed by fire. Telephone and telegraph service was interrupted by damage to telephone cables. In response, the Ministry of Communications accelerated major programs to install automatic telephone switching systems and enter radio broadcasting. The first automatic switching systems were the Strowger-type model made by Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Co. (ATM) in the United Kingdom. NEC participated in the installation of the automatic switching systems, ultimately becoming the general sales agent for ATM. NEC developed its own Strowger-type automatic switching system in 1924, a first in Japan. One of the plants almost leveled during the Kanto Earthquake, the Mita Plant, was chosen to support expanding production. A new three-story steel-reinforced concrete building was built, starting in 1925. It was modeled after the Western Electric Hawthorne Works.

Stable growth

Radio broadcast

NEC started its radio communications business in 1924. Japan's first radio broadcaster, Radio Tokyo was founded in 1924 and started broadcasting in 1925. NEC imported the broadcasting equipment from Western Electric. The expansion of radio broadcasting into Osaka and Nagoya marked the emergence of radio as an Industry. NEC established a radio research unit 1924. NEC started developing electron tubes in 1925. By 1930, they were manufacturing their first 500 W radio transmitter. They provided the Chinese Xinjing station with a 100 kW radio broadcasting system in 1934.

Photo-telegraphic equipment

Photo-telegraphic equipment developed by NEC transmitted photos of the accession ceremony of Emperor Hirohito. The ceremony was held in Kyoto in 1928. The Newspapers Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun were competing to cover the ceremony. The Asahi Shimbun was using a Siemens device. The Mainichi was planning to use French photo-telegraphic equipment. In the end, both papers acquired and used the NEC product, due to its faster transmission rate and higher picture quality.

Carrier transmission equipment

In 1929 Nippon Electric provided Japan's Ministry of Communications with the A-type switching system, the first of these systems to be developed in Japan. Nippon supplied Japan's Ministry of Communications with nonloaded line carrier equipment for long distance telephone channels in 1937.

Microwave research

In 1939, Nippon Electric established a research laboratory in the Tamagawa plant. It became the first Japanese company to successfully test microwave multiplex communications.

World War II

World War II was described by the company as being the blackest days of its history. In 1938 the Mita and Tamagawa plants were placed under military control, with direct supervision by military officers. On December 22, 1941, the enemy property control law was passed. NEC shares owned by International Standard Electric Corporation (ISE), an ITT subsidiary and Western Electric affiliate were seized. Capital and technical relations were abruptly severed. The "Munitions Company Law" was passed in October 1943, placing overall control of NEC plants under military jurisdiction. The Ueno plant was leveled by military attack in March 1945. Fire bombings in April and May heavily damaged the Tamagawa Plant, reducing its capacity by forty percent. The Okayama Plant was totally destroyed by a bombing attack in June of the same year. At the end of the war, NEC’s production had been substantially reduced by damage to its facilities, and by material and personnel shortages. After the war, production was slowly returned to civilian use. NEC re-opened its major plants by the end of January 1946.

Domestic growth

NEC began transistor research and development in 1950. It started exporting radio-broadcast equipment to Korea under the first major postwar contract in 1951. NEC received the Deming prize for excellence in quality control in 1952. Computer research and development began in 1954. NEC produced the first crossbar switching system in Japan. It was installed at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (currently Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation; NTT) in 1956. NEC began joint research and development with NTT of electronic switching systems the same year. NEC established Taiwan Telecommunication Company as their first postwar overseas joint venture in 1958. They completed the NEAC-1101 and NEAC-1102 computers the same year. In 1959 NEC demonstrated their first transistorized computer, the NEAC-2201. They demonstrated it at the UNESCO AUTOMATH show in Paris. The company began integrated circuit research and development in 1960. In 1963 NEC started trading as American Depositary Receipts, ten million shares being sold in the United States. Nippon Electric New York (now NEC America Inc.) was incorporated in the same year.

Global expansion

NEC supplied KDD with submarine cable systems for laying in the Pacific Ocean in 1964. They supplied short-haul 24 channel PCM carrier transmission equipment to NTT in 1965. NEC de Mexico, S. A. de C. V., NEC do Brasil, S. A., NEC Australia Pty. Ltd. were established between 1968 and 1969. NEC supplied Comsat Corporation with the SPADE satellite communications system in 1971. In 1972, Switzerland ordered a NEC satellite communications earth station. The same year, a small transportable satellite communications earth station was set up in China. Shares of NEC common stock were listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1973. NEC also designed an automated broadcasting system for the Japan Broadcasting Corporation the same year. NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH was also established. In 1974, the ACOS series computer was introduced. The New Central Research Laboratories were completed in 1975. In 1977, Japan's National Space Development Agency launched the NEC geostationary meteorological satellite, named Himawari.

C&C; era begins

During this period NEC introduced the concept of "C&C;", the integration of computers and communications. NEC America Inc. opened a plant in Dallas, Texas to manufacture PABX and telephone systems in 1978. They also acquired Electronic Arrays, Inc. of California the same year to start semiconductor chip production in the United States. In 1980, NEC created the first digital signal processor, the NEC µPD7710. NEC Semiconductors (UK) Ltd. was established in 1981, producing VLSIs and LSIs. NEC introduced the 8-bit PC-8800 series personal computer in 1981, followed by the 16-bit PC-9800 series in 1982. In 1983 NEC stock was listed on the Basel, Geneva and Zurich, Switzerland exchanges. NEC changed its English company name to NEC Corporation the same year. NEC Information Systems, Inc. started manufacturing computers and related products in the United States in 1984. NEC also released the V-series processor the same year. In 1986, NEC delivered its SX-2 super computer to the Houston Advanced Research Center, The Woodlands, Tx. In the same year, the NEAX61 digital switching system went in to service. In 1987, NEC Technologies (UK) Ltd. was established in the United Kingdom to manufacture VCRs, printers and computer monitors and mobile telephones for Europe. Also that year, NEC licensed technology from Hudson Soft, a video game manufacturer, to create a video game console called the PC-Engine (later released in 1989 as the TurboGrafx-16 in the North American market). Its successor, the PC-FX, was released in Japan in 1994. NEC USA, Inc. was established in 1989 as a holding company for North American operations.

C&C; for human potential

In 1990, the new head office building, known as the "Super Tower", was completed. Additionally, joint-venture agreements were established to manufacture and market digital electronic switching systems and LSIs in China. In 1993 NEC's asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching system, the NEAX61 (Nippon Electronic Automatic Exchange) ATM Service Node, went into service in the United States. NEC Europe, Ltd. was established as a holding company for European operations the same year. The NEC C&C; Research Laboratories, NEC Europe, Ltd. were opened in Germany in 1994. NEC (China) Co, Ltd. was established as a holding company for Chinese operations in 1996. In 1997 NEC developed 4Gbit DRAM, and their semiconductor group was honored with one of the first Japan Quality Awards. In 1998, NEC opened the world's most advanced semiconductor R&D; facility.

A new century

NEC celebrated their 100th anniversary in 1999. NEC Electronics Corporation was separated from NEC in 2002 as a new semiconductor company. NEC Laboratories America, Inc. (NEC Labs) started in November, 2002 as a merger of NEC Research Institute (NECI) and NEC USA’s Computer and Communications Research Laboratory (CCRL). NEC built the Earth Simulator Computer (ESC), the fastest supercomputer in the world from 2002 to 2004, and since produced the NEC N343i in 2006.

In 2007, NEC and Nissan Co. Corp. started evaluating a joint venture to produce lithium ion batteries for hybrid and electric cars.

On April 23, 2009, Renesas Technology Corp and NEC Electronics Corp struck a basic agreement to merge by around April 2010. On April 1, 2010 NEC Electronics and Renesas Technology merged forming Renesas Electronics which is set to be fourth largest semiconductor company according to iSuppli published data.

On January 27, 2011, NEC formed a PC joint venture with Chinese PC maker Lenovo, the fourth largest PC maker in the world. As part of the deal, the companies said in a statement they will establish a new company called Lenovo NEC Holdings B.V., which will be registered in the Netherlands. NEC will receive US$175 million from Lenovo through the issuance of Lenovo's shares. Lenovo, through a unit, will own a 51% stake in the joint venture, while NEC will hold a 49% stake. In February 2011, ''Bloomberg News'' said the joint venture would allow Lenovo to expand in the field of servers, and NEC's Masato Yamamoto said NEC would be able to grow in China.

Company structure

NEC has structured its organization around three principal segments: IT solutions, network solutions and electronic devices.

The IT solutions business delivers computing solutions to business enterprises, government and individual customers — in the form of software, hardware and related services.

The network solutions business designs and provides broadband network systems, mobile and wireless communications network systems, mobile handsets, broadcast and other systems.

NEC's electronic devices business includes semiconductors, displays and other electronic components. NEC produces Versa notebooks for the international market and the LaVie series for Japanese markets.

Holdings

NEC Corporation of America

NEC Display Solutions of America Inc.

Products

NEC MobilePro - a handheld computer running Windows CE

NEC Aspire hybrid small business phone system

Electric vehicle batteries (Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, a joint-venture between Nissan, NEC Corporation and NEC TOKIN)

NEC mobile phone

NEC America MultiSync Monitors and Fax devices

NEC Information Systems, Inc. LaVie / NEC VERSA notebook

NEC Information Systems, Inc. POWERMATE desktop PC

NEC Information Systems, Inc. Valuestar / NEC POWERMATE hybrid computer

NEC (Division unknown) Car Stereos and Keyless Entry Systems

NEC accelerator mass spectrometry systems

PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16 in US) and all related hardware and successors; co-produced by Hudson Soft.

PC-FX

Achievements

Achievements of NEC include:

the discovery of single-walled carbon nanotubes by Sumio Iijima

the creation of the Earth Simulator, the fastest supercomputer in the world at the time

the invention of the widely used MUX-scan design for test methodology (contrast with the IBM-developed level-sensitive scan design LSSD-scan methodology)

the world's first demonstration of the one-qubit rotation gate in solid state devices.

NEC ranked consistently in the top four companies over the previous five years for the number of U.S. patents issued, averaging 1764 each year.

Supercomputers

1983 Announced the SX-1 and SX-2 supercomputers

1989 Introduction of SX-3

1994 First announcement of SX-4

1999 Delivery of SX-5

2002 Introduced SX-6

2002 Installation of the Earth Simulator, the world's fastest supercomputer from 2002 to 2004 reaching a speed of 35,600 gigaflops

2005 NEC SX-8 in production

2006 Announced the SX-8R

2007 Announced the SX-9

Sponsorship

NEC was the main (title) sponsor of the Davis Cup competition until 2002, when BNP Paribas took over the sponsorship.

NEC sponsored the English football club Everton from 1985 to 1995. The 1995 FA Cup Final triumph was Everton's final game of the decade-long NEC sponsorship, and Danka took over as sponsors.

NEC also sponsor the Harlequin RUFC and RLFC rugby teams from London, as well as the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

NEC signed a deal to sponsor the Sauber F1 team for the 2011 season.

NEC's own teams

These started as works teams, but over the years came to include professional players:

NEC Blue Rockets (men's volleyball)

NEC Red Rockets (women's volleyball)

NEC Green Rockets (men's rugby union)

NEC also used to own Montedio Yamagata of the football (soccer) J. League, but just sponsors them along with other local companies.

See also

Hudson Soft

List of Computer System Manufacturers

Turbografx 16

Other electric vehicle battery manufacturers:

* Sanyo

Footnotes

References

Mark Mason, ''Foreign Direct Investment and Japanese Economic Development, 1899–1931, Business and Economic History, Second Series, Volume Sixteen, 1987''.

NEC Corporation, ''NEC Corporation, The First 80 Years, 1984, ISBN 4-931172-01-6''.

External links

NEC Global Gateway

Category:Companies listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange * Category:Companies based in Tokyo Category:Computer hardware companies Category:Electronics companies of Japan Category:Semiconductor companies Category:Mobile phone manufacturers Category:Mitsui Category:Companies established in 1899 Category:1899 establishments in Japan Category:Electric vehicle battery manufacturers Category:Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Category:Companies formerly listed on NASDAQ

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{| style="float:right; background:transparent;" |

name	Rob Huff
nickname	Huffy
nationality	British
birth date	December 25, 1979
birth place	Cambridge
current series	World Touring Car Championship
first year	2005
current team	Chevrolet
car number	2
starts	132
wins	11
poles	6
fastest laps	11
best finish	3rd
year	20082010
prev series	BTCCSEAT Cupra ChampionshipClio Cup GBBritish Formula RenaultFPA Winter SeriesFormula Vauxhall
prev series years	200420032002200120002000
titles	SEAT Cupra ChampionshipFormula Vauxhall
title years	20032000
award years	}}

{{BTCC alumnus | Team = SEAT Sport UK | Championships = 0 | Wins = 2 | Podiums = – | Poles = – | Fastest laps = – | First year = 2004 | First win = 2004 | Best position = 7th (2004) | Last season = 2004 | Last position = 7th (148 points) | }} |} Robert "Rob" Peter Huff (born December 25, 1979 in Cambridge) is a British racing driver. He currently competes in the World Touring Car Championship for the Chevrolet team, driving the Chevrolet Cruze.

Early years

A Christmas Day birth in 1979, he had a long junior career in karting. He won the 2000 Formula Vauxhall championship, and class B of the 2001 Ethyl MG Championship (also finishing as runner-up in this series in 2000). His father's Chartered Surveying firm has been one of his main sponsors.

Touring Cars

However, Huff entered the big time by winning the inaugural SEAT Cupra Challenge in 2003 , winning a paid drive in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for the next season alongside former champion Jason Plato as a result. He adjusted well, finising 7th overall with wins at Brands Hatch and Snetterton.

The team was run by Ray Mallock, and when his company took on the fledgeling Chevrolet WTCC project, they retained Huff. His best result of 2005 was a 6th place in Mexico. He also did a one off in the guest car of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB, but collided with championship contender Tim Harvey in race 1.

In 2006 he finished 4th at Brands Hatch (immediately before Menu took the team's first win). He was taken to hospital after a huge crash at Puebla. before a stunning meeting at Brno midseason. After starting 24th due to two 10-place penalties, he fought through to 8th place in the first race, which gave him pole for race 2 – giving him a lead he never relinquished en route to a first WTCC win, and the first for Chevrolet in the dry. However, the rest of the season was short on results. In 2007 he took a further win at the Scandinavian Raceway in Sweden, plus three more podiums including his part in a Chevrolet 1–2–3 at Porto left him 9th overall in the series. The team took a win at every new circuit introduced for the 2007 season.

He opened 2008 with four pointless races, but came in 1st and 2nd in the two races at Valencia. At Brands he made his 100th WTCC start, qualifying and took the lead after a lap one collision between Menu and Augusto Farfus, and led until a puncture 3 laps from the end.

Racing Record

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

! Year

! Team

! Car

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

! 22

! 23

! 24

! DC

! Points

2005 World Touring Car Championship season>2005

RML Group>Chevrolet

! Chevrolet Lacetti

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! 21st

! 3

2006 World Touring Car Championship season>2006

RML Group>Chevrolet

! Chevrolet Lacetti

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bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

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bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#ffffff"

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bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

! 16th

! 20

2007 World Touring Car Championship season>2007

RML Group>Chevrolet

! Chevrolet Lacetti

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

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bgcolor="#dfffdf"

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! 9th

! 57

2008 World Touring Car Championship season>2008

RML Group>Chevrolet

! Chevrolet Lacetti

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#000000" style="color: white"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

2009 World Touring Car Championship season>2009

RML Group>Chevrolet

Chevrolet Cruze>Chevrolet Cruze LT

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

! 5th

! 80

2010 World Touring Car Championship season>2010

RML Group>Chevrolet

Chevrolet Cruze>Chevrolet Cruze LT

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#efcfff"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#cfcfff"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

2011 World Touring Car Championship season>2011

RML Group>Chevrolet

Chevrolet Cruze>Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#dfffdf"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

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bgcolor="#ffdf9f"

bgcolor="#ffffbf"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

bgcolor="#dfdfdf"

References

External links

Huff's website

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:English racecar drivers Category:British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:World Touring Car Championship drivers Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:TC2000 drivers Category:Formula Palmer Audi drivers

de:Robert Huff fr:Robert Huff hu:Robert Huff nl:Rob Huff ja:ロバート・ハフ pl:Robert Huff ru:Хафф, Роберт sv:Robert Huff

name	Jason Plato
nationality	British
birth date	October 14, 1967
birth place	Oxford (England)
current series	British Touring Car Championship
first year	1997
current team	Silverline Chevrolet
car number	1
former teams	Williams RenaultVauxhallSEAT Sport UK
starts	333
wins	64
poles	30
fastest laps	56
best finish	1st
year	2001, 2010
prev series	WTCCASCARRenault Spider CupFormula Renault GBBritish F3Formula Renault Eurocup
prev series years	2005200219961990–91, 199519921991
titles	BTCCRenault Spider CupFormula Renault Eurocup
title years	2001, 201019961991
award years	}}

Timothy Jason Plato (born 14 October 1967) is a British racing car driver currently competing in the BTCC for Silverline Chevrolet. He is the reigning BTCC champion having previously won the series in 2001 when driving for Vauxhall. He has finished in the top 3 in the championship 8 times and holds the record for the most overall race wins in the BTCC. He is also a presenter on motoring television series Fifth Gear.

Career history

Plato, who was born in Oxford, England was educated at The King's School, Tynemouth.

After success in karting he raced in Formula Three and Formula Renault. In 1996 he entered the Renault Spider championship, making a dominant title win.

BTCC

In 1997 he gained the second drive in the Williams-Renault BTCC team. He made a sensational start in the Renault Laguna, taking pole for his first 3 races, and ultimately winning 2 races as a rookie, taking 3rd in the championship won by team-mate Alain Menu. He was 5th in the series in each of the next two years

Plato joined Vauxhall in 2000, again taking 5th place in the championship. For 2001 the series had a new set of reduced-cost rules, fewer big-name drivers as a result, and Vauxhall had by far the best car. In a contentious and hard-fought season, Plato won the championship after team-mate Yvan Muller's car set alight at the last round.

Break from BTCC

With an ambition to get into NASCAR racing, Plato moved to the British ASCAR stock car scene in 2002, finishing 3rd in the championship.

In 2003 he was a driver coach for SEAT; this being the link which led to him returning with the Spanish team in 2004.

BTCC Return

He was employed by SEAT to help with their driver development in 2003, and when they entered a BTCC team in 2004, he was the natural choice to lead the team. He was third in the championship that year with seven wins, more than anyone else although the team used the reverse-grid regulations to their advantage. The driver finishing 10th in the first of the meeting's 3 races had pole (and a light car) for race 2, and the winner of race 2 had pole for race 3 (although with a now-heavier car), so Plato frequently dropped back to 10th in race one, often going on to win races 2 and 3. As a result of this, the championship rules were changed to reversing the top 10 of the race 3 grid, somewhat scuppering this tactic, and the pace of Matt Neal's Team Dynamics Honda and Yvan Muller's Vauxhall left him unable to challenge for a second title in 2005. He finished 4th in the 2005 championship with only three wins to his credit during the season, with the team now run by Northern South.

For 2006, Plato continued in the British Touring Car Championship as lead driver for SEAT and their new León touring car. He was the only driver in the three-driver team to compete in all 10 meetings – his team-mates, two times BTCC champion James Thompson and ex-DTM driver Darren Turner, shared the team's second Leon. After the first 3 meetings he was a point behind Thompson in 3rd in the championship, and two retirements in the races at Thruxton did not help his cause. After winning race 1 at Croft, race 2 was his 200th start, and it was nearly a glorious one, before Matt Neal passed him with 2 laps to go. He won 2 out of the 3 races at Brands Hatch to keep his faint hopes of winning the BTCC in 2006 alive, but a poor qualifying run at Silverstone finally ended his hopes. He did pip Colin Turkington to 2nd in the championship, meaning that he has now finished in each of the top 5 championship positions.

Winning the first two races of 2007 set the tone for a title battle with Fabrizio Giovanardi's Vauxhall. Giovanardi took the series lead at Knockhill but Plato retook it at Donington Park, after fighting from 9th on the grid to come 5th in race one and then win race 2. He started race 3 from 9th (after spinning this position on the grid-reversal wheel) but fought through to take the lead from Mike Jordan, with some uncertainty over whether he had passed under yellow. To ensure that he was not penalised he allowed Jordan to repass him, before retaking the lead a lap later. The battle went to the final round, with Giovanardi winning by 3 points to take the championship, with Plato declaring that "Fabrizio beat us the right way. He is a very worthy champion and there were no shenanigans between me and him."

In 2008 the team switched to a diesel-powered Leon. The first win for a diesel car in the BTCC came in round 7 at Donington Park. Two wins at Snetterton helped to championship close the gap on Giovanardi, but a mechanical failure in race 3 was a precursor to a similar problem in race 2 at Oulton Park, after winning race 1. These incidents have typified a season in which performance has not been matched by reliability, despite the same cars being largely reliable in the World Touring Car Championship. Plato went into the final rounds at Brands Hatch still mathematically in with a chance of the title, but admitted that the large points difference between him and Fabrizio Giovanardi made this unrealistic. Both he and Giovanardi had poor final rounds at Brands, allowing Mat Jackson to leapfrog Plato for 2nd overall in his privateer BMW.

Plato's plans for 2009 had been affected by SEAT's shock announcement to pull their factory team out of the BTCC at the end of the 2008 season. It was speculated that Plato was planning to take a sabbatical from racing in order to focus on his TV work. However, after holding talks over the off-season with West Surrey Racing and Tempus Sport, Plato decided to return to the BTCC in a privately-entered RML Group Chevrolet Lacetti. After the first meeting, the team secured sponsorship from Silverline power tools and Auto Windscreens for the rest of the season, they raced under the Racing Silverline banner. At the final round of the season at Brands Hatch, he became only the second driver after Dan Eaves at Thruxton in 2005 to win all three races, the first of which he won by a then closest-ever BTCC winning margin of 0.015 seconds, ahead of Tom Chilton. He finished 2nd in the 2009 championship, 5 points behind champion Colin Turkington.

For 2010 RML became an official Chevrolet manufacturer team, racing the Cruze model that races in the World Touring Car Championship, with Plato as lead driver. Plato was a championship challenger immediately, with a double victory at Snetterton returning him to the championship lead. Jason dominated the 2nd half of the season and finally claimed the 2010 MSA Dunlop British Touring Car Championship by winning round 29 at Brands Hatch on October 10, 2010. His win was also his 60th equalling Andy Rouse's BTCC record.

After starting 3rd on the grid, Plato won the first round of the 2011 season at Brands Hatch, setting a new BTCC record of 61 victories.

Other racing

Plato competed in the Bathurst 1000 and Sandown 500 numerous times, but without any great success. His last attempt at Bathurst was with the Holden Racing Team and was driving with the late Peter Brock. Plato and Brock's race ended with Plato being involved in a crash which resulted in John Cleland's car roll onto its roof.

During his 2005 BTCC campaign, he also competed in three rounds of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) for SEAT Sport. He managed a second place finish in race two of his home round FIA WTCC Race of UK at Silverstone.

Television career

Plato is a co-presenter for the Channel 5 British TV series Fifth Gear co-starring with Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson. He has previously co-presented Channel 4's motoring program 'driven' alongside Mike Brewer and Penny Mallory.

Plato was injured in a Caparo T1 supercar in October 2007 during filming for Fifth Gear at Bruntingthorpe proving ground. The car caught fire at an estimated 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph)and Plato described his injuries as follows:

“The back of my neck is burnt and so are my face and hands. I obviously couldn’t take my hands off the steering wheel whilst braking and my right hand is more badly burnt than my left."

He was taken from the scene by former BTCC driver Phil Bennett and after treatment at three hospitals, including Stoke Mandeville Hospital's specialist burns unit, Plato was able to compete in the following weekend's final race in the 2007 BTCC calendar. This incident was also mentioned in Top Gear, where Jeremy Clarkson called him a 'Baked Potato' after mispronouncing his name.

Plato also presented the popular Sky One television program Mission Implausible where he and Tania Zaetta compete to perform three stunts over the course of each episode.

Personal life

A qualified pilot, he owned a Piper Malibu Mirage to commute to his former home in Monaco.

Racing record

Complete BTCC Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Year

! Team

! Car

! Position

! Points

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Renault Laguna

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Renault Laguna

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Renault Laguna

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Vauxhall Vectra

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!rowspan=2

Vauxhall

!rowspan=2

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!colspan="2"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Seat Leon

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Seat Leon

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

DNS

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Seat Leon

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Chevrolet Lacetti

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Chevrolet Cruze

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Chevrolet Cruze

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

!colspan="3"

Note: bold signifies pole position (1 point given in first race only), ''italics'' signifies fastest lap (1 point given all races) and * signifies at least one lap in the lead (1 point given all races).

† Season in progress

‡ Retired before 2nd start of race

Complete WTCC results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

! Year

! Team

! Car

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

! Position

! Points

! rowspan=2

SEAT Sport

! rowspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

! colspan=2

15th

10

References

"Plato injured in Caparo filming", "BTCC.net", October 10, 2007. Accessed October 10, 2007

External links

JasonPlato.com ''(NB: Diverts to seatsportuk.co.uk, Sept 2009)''

Official Profile at BTCC.net

Corporate SEAT Sport site

Sky One website for Mission Implausible

Complete BTCC Results

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:People from Oxford Category:Kart racing drivers Category:English racecar drivers Category:British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:British Formula Three Championship drivers Category:British Touring Car Championship drivers Category:British Touring Car Champions Category:World Touring Car Championship drivers Category:V8 Supercar drivers Category:English television presenters Category:English expatriates in Monaco Category:People educated at The King's School, Tynemouth

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